Spring Reunions are almost upon us. The 5th, 10th, 25th, 35th, 40th and 50th reunions will be back to campus on April 8-10 for an exciting program featuring outstanding members of our faculty and some of our most prominent alumni. Attendance is high but there is still an opportunity to join your friends and classmates in Cambridge and to experience the HLS of today. We look forward to seeing many of you next month.

This month’s issue contains a range of interesting topics that reflect the debates currently taking place in the classrooms at HLS. From discussions on the constitutionality of both health care reform and the Libyan campaign to Cross-School Collaboration: Law Students Cross the Bridge to Negotiate with HBS you can learn how our students are tackling the issues of the day and developing the skills to be the leaders of the future. You will also see that in the first-ever ranking of law schools by hiring officials at the country's top law firms, Harvard Law School was ranked number one in the attached U.S.News & World Report survey.

Have you ever thought of volunteering to judge the 1L Ames Moot Court Competition (April 11-14)? If you have, now is your opportunity to do so. Also, join us, on April 7, 2011, for one of the year’s most exciting events, the Public Interest Auction, Bids Under the Big Top. This is a fun evening for a great cause--all proceeds from the auction benefit summer public interest funding (SPIF), a program that supports students pursuing public interest positions. If you have a chance to do either, we would love to see you back on campus.

Our hearts go out to all of our alumni and friends who have been touched by the recent tragedy in Japan. More information is available through the Harvard for Japan website, a cross-Harvard alliance created in response to the Great Tohoku Earthquake that struck Japan on March 11.

On a sad note, I am sorry to report that William Stuntz, a beloved member of the HLS faculty, lost his gallant fight with cancer earlier this month. Bill was an extraordinary scholar, teacher, and human being--his wisdom and compassion touched the lives of many in the HLS community and beyond. His passing is a great loss.

Steven Oliveira
Associate Dean and Dean for
Development and Alumni Relations

NEWS

Harvard Law School Ranked First by U.S. News & World Report Survey of Law Firm RecruitersHarvard Law School has been rated number one in the first-ever ranking of best law schools based on a survey of hiring partners and recruiters at the country's top law firms, U.S. News and World Report announced March 7. Read MoreLaw Firm Recruiters Rank Best Law Schools

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Jacob Gersen Will Join the Harvard Law School Faculty Jacob E. Gersen, a leading expert in administrative law, legislation and constitutional theory, will join the Harvard Law School faculty as a tenured Professor of Law this summer. He is currently on the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School, where he teaches environmental law, administrative law, legislation, executive branch design and torts. Read More

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Jack Goldsmith in Slate: The President's Campaign Against Libya is ConstitutionalIn a recent op-ed in Slate, Professor Jack Goldsmith makes the case for why President Obama's campaign of air and sea strikes against Libya is constitutional. Goldsmith says that while he agrees with "many of the arguments from critics of the intervention that President Obama acted imprudently in committing American forces to a conflict with an ill-defined national security justification," he does not believe that the military action is unconstitutional. Read More

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Is the Obama Health Care Reform Constitutional? Fried, Tribe and Barnett Debate the Affordable Care Act (Video)Debating what Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow called “one of the most important public policy issues and one of the most important constitutional issues,” three law professors offered different perspectives on whether the individual mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) violates the commerce clause of the Constitution and infringes on personal liberties. Read More |Watch Video

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Cross-School Collaboration: Law Students Cross the Bridge to Negotiate with HBSOn a raw and rainy winter day in Boston, in a small room at Harvard Business School, two teams of students sit facing each other across a conference table. Each team includes two HBS students playing the roles of corporate executives at major drug companies, and an HLS student acting as their corporate attorney. Read More

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Zittrain on American Public Media's Marketplace Tech Report: Does the Internet Have an Off Switch? (Audio)Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain appeared on the March 9 edition of American Public Media’s Marketplace Tech Report to discuss the Cybersecurity and Internet Freedom Act of 2011, introduced last year by Senators Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins, and Thomas Carper. Read More | Listen to Audio

William StuntzWilliam Stuntz, a renowned scholar of criminal justice at Harvard Law School, an evangelical Christian and a teacher much beloved by students and colleagues, died March 14 after a long battle with cancer. Stuntz, 52, joined the HLS faculty in 2000 and was named the Henry J. Friendly Professor of Law in 2006. His influential scholarship over the past three decades addressed the full spectrum of issues related to criminal justice and procedure, from the overcrowding of prisons and racial disparities in incarceration to the appropriate role of faith, emotion and mercy in the penal system. Read MoreAn Examined Life of Thoughtfulness and GraceNY Times Editorial: William Stuntz

HAPPENINGS ON CAMPUS

The Harvard Law School Board of Student Advisers Invites You to Judge the 2011 First-Year Ames Moot CourtThe first-year Ames Moot Court is a required part of the 1L experience. In their second semester of Legal Research and Writing, first-year students write appellate briefs and participate in oral arguments in support of their briefs. Each oral argument is judged by a three member panel, ideally comprised of one practitioner, one faculty member, and one upper-level student. This year’s oral arguments will be held on April 11-14. Alumni volunteers can judge as few as one evening or for all evenings. Read More

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Traphagen Distinguished Alumni Speaker SeriesEstablished in 1996 to foster interaction between students and alumni, the Traphagen Distinguished Alumni Speakers Series (TDASS) invites Law School alumni back to campus to speak informally with students about their careers. Schedule subject to change.Monday, April 4
Adebayo Ogunlesi M.B.A. ’78/J.D. ’79
Chairman and Managing Partner of Global Infrastructure Partners

Former Visiting Professor Michael McConnell Delivers Vaughan Lecture at HLS: What Would Hamilton Do? (Video) Giving the biennial Vaughan Lecture at Harvard Law School, former federal appeals court judge Michael McConnell contemplated the question "What would Hamilton do?" McConnell, a distinguished scholar who held numerous academic posts before serving as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit until 2010, is a former visiting professor at Harvard Law School. He is now on the faculty at Stanford Law School, where he is director of the Stanford Constitutional Law Center. Read More | Watch Video

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Brian Burke '81, Toronto Maple Leafs President and General Manager, Speaks at HLSToronto Maple Leafs President and General Manager Brian Burke '81 hosted a conversation at Harvard Law School, telling a crowd of students and hockey fans that concussions were an inevitable “occupational risk” in hockey but that the National Hockey League was “ahead of the curve” in dealing with them. Read More

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2011 Public Interest Auction:Bids Under The Big Top April 7, 2011 - Austin Hall
Silent Auction: 5:30 - 7:45 p.m.
Live Auction: 8:00 - 10:00 p.m.Event WebsiteAll proceeds benefit summer public interest funding (SPIF).
In the summer of 2010, 515 HLS students were awarded SPIF to pursue public interest work.If you would like to make a donation, please visit: http://hlsorgs.com/auction/

Donations can be sent to the auction care of the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising, Pound Hall 329,
1563 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138

FACULTY/ALUMNI BOOKS

Adrian Vermeule '93 and Eric A. Posner '91, "The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic"Where should the line be drawn on executive power? Harvard Law School Professor Adrian Vermeule ’93 and University of Chicago Law Professor Eric A. Posner ’91 examine the current state and the future of the U.S. presidency and Constitution through the context of historical authorities in their new book, “The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic." Read More

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Rebecca Hamilton '07, "Fighting for Darfur:
Public Action and the Struggle to Stop Genocide" Rebecca Hamilton '07 passionately narrates the six-year grassroots campaign to draw global attention to the plight of Darfur's people. From college students who galvanized entire university campuses in the belief that their outcry could save millions of Darfuris still at risk, to celebrities such as Mia Farrow, who spurred politicians to act, to Steven Spielberg, who boycotted the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Hamilton details how advocacy for Darfur was an exuberant, multi-billion dollar effort. Read More

SPOTLIGHTS

FACULTY

Race in America, Made Personal: Gordon-Reed Unravels the Complex Jefferson-Hemings Family TiesIn a talk at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard's Annette Gordon-Reed discussed the plans for another volume of her award-winning work that will follow Sally Hemings and her descendants from 1830 through the early 20th century. Exploring history as well as social and cultural dynamics, Gordon-Reed said she was trying to “re-create the world of Charlottesville and the Hemingses, and to go deeper than people had done up until this point.” Read More

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Palfrey Named One of Library Journal's 2011 Movers and ShakersOn March 14, the Library Journal announced 50 new inductees to their Movers & Shakers list, including John Palfrey ’01. Movers & Shakers is a distinguished annual award given to those who are shaping the future of libraries and communities across the United States. “They are innovators who take service to the next level and technology leaders who build bridges between libraries and users. They create positive change during these rapidly changing times.” Read More

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Professors Smith and Goldberg Reinvigorate the Study of Private Law at HLS When John Goldberg was a law student, he had a problem in classes like contracts, torts, and property. The problem wasn’t with the subject matter, but with the fact that some professors didn’t seem to take it seriously enough. Now a professor himself, Goldberg is working with Professor Henry Smith to reinvigorate the study of such traditional law school subjects with the new Private Law Workshop, which they co-teach as part of the Project on the Foundations of Private Law at Harvard Law School. Read More

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ALUMNI

Mitt Romney '75 Addresses Health Care, Not AuthenticityDuring a speech to New Hampshire Republicans, Mitt Romney '75 delivered what will likely be his most durable rejoinder to critics of the universal health care program he signed into law while governor of Massachusetts. Still remaining, though, is a lingering, fundamental question about his authenticity that has only been perpetuated by recent appearances. Read More

Lazard Executive, Jeffrey Cohen '88, Discusses his Journey from Law School to Investment BankingIn a lunch with Harvard Law School students, Jeffrey Cohen ’88, Managing Director and Global Head of Retail at Lazard, discussed his journey from law school and legal training to investment banking. Read More

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Laurence Tribe '66 Receives Doctorate from Mexico's National Institute of Criminal ScienceHarvard Law School Professor Laurence H. Tribe ’66 will receive an honorary doctorate on March 29 from Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Penales (INACIPE), or National Institute of Criminal Science. He will be the first American to receive the annual “honoris causa” doctorate since its inception in 1998. Read More

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STUDENTS

J-term Class in Costa Rica Immerses Students in Doctrine and Practice of the Inter-American Human Rights SystemFor years, Clinical Professor Jim Cavallaro tried to teach the ins and outs of the Inter-American system from his office in Cambridge. “But at some point, given how much work our Clinic does before the Commission and Court, I realized Harvard should have a structured means of studying the broad jurisprudence and practice of the Inter-American system,” said Cavallaro, executive director of the Human Rights Program. “And where better than Costa Rica, the seat of the Inter-American Court?” Read More

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Hope, Hardship in Mortgage Battle: Mother Put Up a Rare Fight in Foreclosure Marie Cacoa thought she had found a refuge for her four children when she bought the yellow wooden house on a dead end in Dorchester, financing the purchase with a high-interest, subprime mortgage. Instead, it became a foreclosure nightmare that would threaten her family’s fragile stability. Read how Harvard Law School’s legal aid bureau and other groups assisted Cacoa in her fight to buy back her home. Read More

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Russell Simmons, Def Jam Creator, Speaks at HLSRussell W. Simmons and two other record industry executives credited religion and God as the keys to their success in the entertainment industry at a discussion at Harvard Law School. The Harvard Black Law Students Association and the Hip Hop Entertainment Law Project hosted the event. Read More

HLS CONNECT

HLS Connect Experiences Large Increase in Alumni AdvisorsThe month of March brought a large increase in Alumni Advisors to HLS Connect with over 200 new volunteers signing up to serve as active advisors in the alumni advising network. If you have already registered for HLS Connect, but are not sure if you are an active advisor, login to www.hlsconnect.com/advisor and make sure your advising status is set to 'active' so that our students can benefit from your wonderful career and life experiences.

Nick Smyth '09 and Mary Catherine Blanton '12Nick Smyth '09 is a member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Implementation Team at the United States Department of the Treasury. Second-year student, Mary Catherine Blanton '12 was eager to spend her Winter Term in Washington, DC, working on financial oversight issues. Read about Nick's career since graduating from HLS and how he helped Mary Catherine design an internship at the CFPB for the recent January term. Read More

ALUMNI EVENTS

Spring Reunion 2011April 8-10, 2011 - Cambridge, MA

Classes of 1961, 1971, 1976, 1986, 2001 and 2006
Visit the Reunion Weekend Website to learn more about the weekend's activities.

Celebration of Black Alumni - Sept. 2011On September 16-18, 2011, Harvard Law School will pay tribute to our black alumni at the 3rd Celebration of Black Alumni in Cambridge. Building on the great successes of our 2nd Celebration of Black Alumni, we look forward to a fabulous weekend of educational programming, thought-provoking keynote sessions and renewed friendships. We sincerely hope that you will be able to return to Cambridge for this historic event. Read More

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Celebrating the 125th Anniversary2011 marks the 125th Anniversary of the Harvard Law School Association. The Association serves to engage 37,000 members worldwide by supporting and sponsoring programming, events and activities, providing a vital link between Harvard Law School and its alumni body. To mark this event, the Association will host a number of receptions and dinners worldwide. Upcoming EventsMay 11, 2011 - HLSA of Toronto Reception

HLSA Spring Meeting
Current HLSA Executive Committee and Council members will convene in conjunction with the Spring Reunion Weekend.
HLSA Volunteers: Visit the Spring Meeting Information Page for details and registration.

A Special Presentation of the Harvard Law School
Law & Arts Initiative and the New York City Bar AssociationMOTHERLODE: Lawyering, Parenting (and Writing About It) in the Age of “Having it All”Organized by Theresa Park ’92Event Information and Panel Bios (PDF)
NYC Bar Association
42 West 44th Street, New York, NYSave the Date - Additional details to follow